Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed on July 12th, the seventh review of Rwanda’s performance under the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) and the second review of the arrangement under the Standby Credit Facility (SCF).

The Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance signed a financing package of $482.3 million in grants with the World Bank to help the country through a difficult phase in its struggle to end poverty, on July 12th. It signals a long-term commitment by both parties to the country’s development and people.

Vietnam’s business community now has a one-stop shop to get information on import-export regulations and procedures, thanks to the newly-launched Vietnam Trade Information Portal (VTIP). Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung, World Bank’s Acting Country Director Sebastian Eckardt, and Director General of Vietnam Custom Nguyen Van Can jointly pushed the button to make VTIP live.

China says its trade with North Korea rose in the first six months of 2017, compared to the same period the year before.

China’s Customs Administration announced Thursday that trade with the international pariah North grew 10.5 percent to $2.5 billion between January and June, with exports soaring to 29.1 percent during that period.

SME access to public procurement, the Single Market and finance, SME-friendly VAT and taxation rules and striking a better balance between SME needs and labour, consumer and environmental protection are critical factors behind SME success in Europe. The "smart regulation for SMEs" opinion of the European Committee of the Regions' (CoR) rapporteur Christian Buchmann was adopted during the CoR plenary session on 12 July.

Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), made the following statement in Dubrovnik

“It has been a great pleasure to be in Croatia. I participated in a joint IMF/Croatian National Bank conference on “Reaccelerating Convergence in Central Eastern and Southeastern Europe: The Role of Governance and Institutions.” I also had an important and invaluable exchange of views with economic policymakers from throughout the region during a roundtable discussion in Dubrovnik.

On June 21, the management of the IMF completed the second and final review under the first Staff–Monitored Program (SMP) with Somalia, and the Managing Director of the IMF approved a new SMP covering the period May 2017–April 2018.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held the 6th Western Balkans Civil Society Forum in Sarajevo on 10-11 July. Participants adopted a Final Declaration calling for increased media freedom, opening the doors of the Western Balkans to EU enlargement, the implementation of migration policies and increased employment opportunities, and working on women's rights.

On June 30, 2017, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with the Russian Federation.

The Global Financing Facility (GFF) in support of Every Woman Every Child welcomes the United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Development’s first £30 million commitment and the government of Canada’s additional Can$20 million pledge to the GFF Trust Fund, a combined total equivalent of US$54 million in new funding available to countries.